Job Hunting as a Numbers Game
After some deliberation on the pros and cons of staying in your current position, you have made it. You have talked to your boss and you have both agreed you are leaving.
So far so good.
You have decided to make a change - go for it.
Now, if you are super smart, you have started job hunting months in advance and you have something lined up.
If you haven't - that is fine too. Sometimes we need to make the leap of faith and believe we will do it, and things will be just fine in the end.
There are two things I found extra helpful: support network and LinkedIn.
I have been lucky - I somehow managed to build a network of people who believed I can be successful and totally believed in my capabilities to achieve that break in the IT industry (even when I was filled with self-doubt).
Having your own cheerleading team is great on the days when the 'no'-s in my inbox were one too many.
There was a simple lesson to be learned there - job hunting is a numbers game and the 80/20 rule is very much valid.
For me it was a matter of trial and error - there are too many companies where I do not fit. For some I was too experienced and too educated, for others it was the opposite - I lacked experience and knowledge. The irony was not lost on me!
Last but not least, some companies were a poor cultural fit. Very quickly a learned that it's ok to have a different style of work and some basic preferences about your work environment. the bonus of being in a big city like London is that you'll find people and companies which are your type of quirky.
To find that 'golden' middle ground I had to send a lot of applications. And I really mean a lot - over 200. More than 150 of those were on LinkedIn and the rest - on Glassdoor.
I had one rule - I ignored jobs that did not allow 'easy' apply.
Why you might ask? I literally did not have the time to fill in long application forms. I found them useless when I was applying for graduate jobs a few years ago, I found them even more useless now. If an employer wants me to write essays for an IT job, it is already a bad match.
My strategy was to send the one-page resume to as many recruiters as possible.
The results were not late to come.
I received a lot of rejections straight away, made it to a few telephone interviews and technical tests, went to even fewer office visits and finally received a bunch of offers.
It takes time, it is annoying, sometimes it feels like it is a forever curse. In reality, it is not - it's a learning opportunity, it gives you a chance to focus on sharpening your skills and take a break.
Remember, it is only temporarily! It is only until you hit the numbers that give you an actual return in the form of an offer.
Keep breathing, keep applying, the right people will be waiting for you!
So far so good.
You have decided to make a change - go for it.
Now, if you are super smart, you have started job hunting months in advance and you have something lined up.
If you haven't - that is fine too. Sometimes we need to make the leap of faith and believe we will do it, and things will be just fine in the end.
There are two things I found extra helpful: support network and LinkedIn.
I have been lucky - I somehow managed to build a network of people who believed I can be successful and totally believed in my capabilities to achieve that break in the IT industry (even when I was filled with self-doubt).
Having your own cheerleading team is great on the days when the 'no'-s in my inbox were one too many.
There was a simple lesson to be learned there - job hunting is a numbers game and the 80/20 rule is very much valid.
For me it was a matter of trial and error - there are too many companies where I do not fit. For some I was too experienced and too educated, for others it was the opposite - I lacked experience and knowledge. The irony was not lost on me!
Last but not least, some companies were a poor cultural fit. Very quickly a learned that it's ok to have a different style of work and some basic preferences about your work environment. the bonus of being in a big city like London is that you'll find people and companies which are your type of quirky.
To find that 'golden' middle ground I had to send a lot of applications. And I really mean a lot - over 200. More than 150 of those were on LinkedIn and the rest - on Glassdoor.
I had one rule - I ignored jobs that did not allow 'easy' apply.
Why you might ask? I literally did not have the time to fill in long application forms. I found them useless when I was applying for graduate jobs a few years ago, I found them even more useless now. If an employer wants me to write essays for an IT job, it is already a bad match.My strategy was to send the one-page resume to as many recruiters as possible.
The results were not late to come.
I received a lot of rejections straight away, made it to a few telephone interviews and technical tests, went to even fewer office visits and finally received a bunch of offers.
It takes time, it is annoying, sometimes it feels like it is a forever curse. In reality, it is not - it's a learning opportunity, it gives you a chance to focus on sharpening your skills and take a break.
Remember, it is only temporarily! It is only until you hit the numbers that give you an actual return in the form of an offer.
Keep breathing, keep applying, the right people will be waiting for you!
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